Pliable containers are widely used to store both edible and non-edible products. For example, snack items, such as various types of chips and cereals, are typically packaged in pliable containers. These containers are generally sealed at both ends for initial packaging purposes and then one end is opened to access the product. It may be desirable to reuse the container to store the product for extended periods of time, allowing repeated access to the interior of the container.
When used to store edible food items for example, it is particularly advantageous to adequately seal the open end of the container between uses in order to prolong the useful life of the products stored therein. For this reason, once the initial seal at one end of the container is broken, it is common practice to roll up the openable end of the pliable container for storage. Unfortunately, the rolled-up ends of such pliable containers generally tend to unroll between uses, which may lead to the food items becoming stale or non-edible.
Proposed solutions to this problem include providing various types of closure mechanisms at the open end of the container to maintain the side walls of the container in a closed relationship for sealing purposes. For example, it is known to use a clip to prevent the openable container end from unrolling. Since such clips are completely separate from the container, they can be misplaced and are therefore often only used when readily available. In addition, these clips often tend to break and only directly maintain a small central section of the openable container end in a rather tight, closed condition. Zip-type or slider type closure arrangements have also become quite prevalent for use with certain types of pliable containers. Such closure arrangements are considered advantageous in that they generally extend across the entire width of the open end and are formed integral to the container. However, such closure arrangements may be expensive and difficult to use due to the required dexterity. In addition, these closure arrangements do not provide an immediate indication that a complete seal has been established. Instead, the entire arrangement must be systematically sealed from one end of the opening to the other and if any portion is not sealed, the purpose of the closure may be completely compromised.
In addition to providing a closure system for closing an open end of a pliable container, it is also considered advantageous to enhance the accessibility to the interior of a container when the container is opened. More specifically, when the container is opened, it is desirable to maintain the side walls of the container in an open configuration, at least at the open end of the container, to permit easy access to the contents.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a simple, inexpensive closure system for use with pliable containers that will both improve resealing functionality when in the closed or sealed configuration and enhance accessibility to withheld contents when in the open configuration.